


Zero Mission

by TheChozoHuntress



Series: Legacy [2]
Category: Metroid Series
Genre: Adaptation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:55:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheChozoHuntress/pseuds/TheChozoHuntress
Summary: The Invasion has already taken Zebes. The Pirates of Krom have obtained the planet. The new war rages with the zero hour now at hand, and in the midst of chaos, Samus Aran shall arise from despair to be reborn at last as the legend foreseen.
Series: Legacy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586419
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Aftermath

**2976.263**

**GFS** _**Dauntless**_ **, Calliope-IX orbit**  
**Dakona System**

The lift was quiet, despite half a dozen other crew being on it with her. It didn't take much to realize something was wrong with how everything had gone silent. It wasn't much people looking at her, but there was a definite sense of dread as the lift rose up the main elevation shaft. Various stops occurred as shipsmen hurried to their combat stations, leaving Samus to herself by the time she reached the command deck. The lift opened to a now very busy hallway, but the layout was labeled enough to know where she was going without distracting the crew. The _Vixiv_ might have been a vastly smaller ship, but standard design philosophy for Confederation Fleet ships tended to stick to proven layouts.

It didn't take her long to reach the command bridge. The entry panel was tapped, leading to a protracted opening cycle. The doors slid open just in time to see the primary viewscreens and the events going on in orbit over Calliope-IX, something she had not been expecting to witness first hand. Streaks of plasma rained down onto the moon's surface, the raging fire of the bombs erupting into a series of atmosphere eating waves, each cascading into another as they spread. Soon, the planet's biosphere was igniting, the waves of incinerating fury washing over the surface. Even in the academy, she had never seen this before, not even in simulation form. And it struck her with horror as her mind could imagine and hear the thousands of voices crying in fear, in agony, and silenced.

"Helm, get us out of here and on the way to FS-176. There's nothing else we can do."

She was still staring at the images on the viewscreens when she realized that Dane was now looking directly at her. The shift in gravity alignment was noticeable when the _Dauntless_ began its heavy thrust away from the moon and the attacking Kromus ship, then the lurch of crossing the threshold into slipspace. And yet, nothing could take away from the attentions now on her, and the fact she was very much sticking out like a sore thumb didn't help her mood.

"Samus, I think you had best get to quarters and try to relax after what you've been through." The admiral gave a gesture for the young woman to be escorted away, his face worn with everything they had just ensured. "I'll have some real food delivered once we're out of the woods."

"Admiral, we need to talk about Zebes." She didn't even try to hide the issue. "We can't seriously head in there with only one carrier."

A weary sigh as he nodded to Captain Ran. "The bridge is yours, captain. I'll see to our guest." As he walked across the command landing of the bridge, he waved his hand at Samus, indicating for her to accompany him. "The _Daedalus_ battle group is already heading out there ahead of the Seventh Fleet. I assumed your message was a warning of an immanent invasion attempt, so that should be enough to hold the Kromus off while the Seventh mobilizes."

She blinked, brushing a frayed bang away from her eyes and shaking her head. "Sir, that was over a month ago I tried to tell Harper, and none of the people on Calliope would listen." It was odd, and perturbing she realized, as her mind recalled what she had just witnessed, and that they were already racing away at slipspeeds that had crossed over a dozen parsecs already in mere minutes. "That's what I have been trying to tell you. The Kromus weren't on their way, they have _already_ taken Zebes, I left _during_ the invasion."

Concern arched his lips in worried contemplation, while his brow creased after realizing just how badly the delay had been. He was well aware of how long they'd had during the war when the Kromus had made an attempt for Zebes. Just over two weeks for their fastest ships of the time and any vessels that could catch the slipspace wake or tether with those carriers and battlewagons capable of the journey. They'd gotten word last time when the pirates had tripped early warning and defense systems and been forced to take over a week just to reach the inner system region. This time, it had been over a month since the Kromus had actually taken possession of the planet. Something that wasn't supposed to have happened.

"They've had Zebes for over a month now." The horrible implications were sinking in. "Samus, how quickly would they be able to take control of the cryptum under Chozodia? I know that the Ancients buried their greatest ships there, Gray Voice told me about it when the Kromus tried invading twenty-three years ago."

She hesitated. Memories of being in the ancient city and what had almost happened there. "I'm not sure," came Aran's wavered reply. Recalling that bothered her, almost as much as remembering anything from when she had been taken in by the Chozo. "They'd have already been burning across the Spur if they had broken in before now, and it would take either the Council or Mother Brain helping them."

That information was both comforting and worrisome at the same time. While Kromus taking slave worlds was not unprecedented, they didn't often worry about such a small population being usable, especially an aging species that was, unknown to most of the galaxy, spiraling toward extinction. But it also meant also that the incredible technologies kept hidden by the living Chozo, the legacies of their own ancestors, had yet to be disturbed.

"I'd hope the Council would never give into whatever passes for Kromus High Command these days, and an aurora unit precursor certainly should have safe guards." Yet even his own words clearly did not dispel his concern. The Kromus had held Zebes for over a standard month, and no word at all had come to alert them save the warning that Samus had tried to deliver to deaf ears on Calliope-IX. Access to the hidden cryptum under the ancient city or not, there was still plenty the planet held to make it a worry. "We should be making system in under eighteen hours, I want you to get some food and get rest before we arrive and throw the Kromus out again."

And despite his comforting words, Samus still did not have confidence that this was in any way such a simple task.


	2. The Broken Line

**2976.264**

**GFS** _**Dauntless,** _ **En route to FS-176 system**

It had been several hours since they had evacuated from the Dakona System, and the sight of a Kromus plasma bombardment of the ninth moon of Calliope still was fresh in Samus' mind. Dane had managed to section her in an unoccupied set of officer's quarters, with food on the way. The few survivors from Calliope-IX itself were in the troop barracks. No doubt Harper was going to throw a fit about how she was being treated. But he was alive, and considering how _he_ had treated _her_ for the last month and some days, Samus couldn't see much grounds he had to stand on. As it was, he was going to be in hot water for refusal to follow the orders of a four star fleet admiral, if not cashiered out of the service for holding her without proper charges or any actual evidence to support holding her in solitary confinement for over a month.

Yet it didn't make her feel anymore at ease about five thousand people being burned alive by plasma bomb drops, and those that didn't burn would suffocate once any emergency oxygen supplies ran out. It would take two weeks for the fastest non-military support vessels to arrive, if they were lucky. And that was if the Kromus didn't do further damage to what was left of the moon.

A chime at the door. With a sigh, Samus stood up from the study desk and crossed the room to answer. As promised, it was one of the cooks from the ship's galley, offering her a rather full tray of food to help settle her. The girl nodded her thanks, still not ready to speak to anyone outside the Admiral, then keyed the door shut before setting the tray at the study desk. It was then she looked aside at herself, unsealing her armor jacket and getting a good look at the bruises she had obtained over the last month since fleeing Zebes.

What injuries she had endured had all healed save the most recent. It was still a reminder, however. The only scars that had ever stayed were those over her left eye and cheek, marks she had carried ever since just before she had been taken in by Maru after finding her. That was as far back as she could remember at all without incurring the gut dropping feelings of fear.

She also could see where she had been losing weight. A month in solitary confinement and a diet that was not designed for her high metabolic needs had resulted in a noticeable loss of body tone. She was certain Admiral Dane was going to make sure she was well taken care of after this, but it was a reminder to Samus of an indisputable fact; she wasn't human, no matter how much she looked like it or tried to convince others that she was. She stopped being human like any other Terran fifteen years ago.

Her jacket resealed again, Samus took the chance to dig into the meal she had been served. Protein heavy and lots of fatty foods, standard platter for someone with a high calorie intake like her. Dane had been sure to inform the galley of her metabolic needs, no doubt. The upside to non-terrans being part of the Confederation regions and serving with the Terran armed forces was that certain diets and needs were considered and ships were stocked just in case. Plus, while there were only a handful left, the ÆSIRs had higher needs compared to normal humans as well.

It was just as she was finishing the dinner tray that another alert chime could be heard. She paused, not sure who she was supposed to be expecting. After a moment, Samus stood up from the desk chair and approached the door. A deep breath, and she keyed the lock open. The thick door panel snapped aside to reveal a very disheveled Castor Dane patiently waiting. The hours since Calliope-IX had clearly worn on him from the way his shoulders were slumped. "I hope I didn't interrupt your dinner, Samus. It's probably been a long time since you had a meal that actually filled you up."

"Beats the slop they pass off as food in that prison." Neither of them, though, was laughing. Too much hung over them and the entire galaxy. With a sigh, Samus gestured for the admiral to enter while resuming her seat and taking the last few bites of her meal. "It's not quite a baked sciser or flame roasted zoomer, but chicken and beef still aren't half bad."

"I sometimes forget the exotic foods you're so used to compared to the normal Confleet fare." A smile managed to pull at the admiral's lips as he took a seat on the spare chair at one end of the room. "The situation and what we escaped aside, Samus...it's good to see you again and know you're alright." He paused as he noted the toward expression on her face. "It's why it's so hard taking you right back in, but I feel like you're the only one who can help us sort this out and fortify the planet-"

"I'm not even entertaining any delusions about Zebes, Admiral." There was no touch of hope in her words. Green eyes were steeled with anger and regret as she drank the last of the juice provided her in a single gulp. "The Pirates have been there for over a month. I barely managed to escape while my _father_ stayed behind to buy me time when they invaded."

It did not escape Dane how Samus referred to her Chozo caretaker. And to be honest with himself, he could hardly blame her point of view. To his knowledge, Maru had already been a close friend of her biological father before the first war, and certainly, as the one who had rescued her as a child, would have been the closest to a real father she'd had. He'd been made aware of the measures taken to allow Samus to survive in Zebes' hostile environments, as well as the source of those genetic materials spliced into her own DNA.

"Samus, I know it's hard to hold hope, but we've been here before. Your human father, twenty-three years ago, was the one Maru contacted when the Kromus tried to invaded before. And they had Ridley commanding their military assets back then." Dane paused as he saw her shift uncomfortably. It wasn't talking about Zebes, but about the dead pirate commander. "We will liberate Zebes, and then-"

"And then _what_?"

He hadn't expected her to snap. Something was eating at the girl, and it wasn't just the time undeservedly spent in a frontier moon prison. It was Zebes itself, the invasion, and the likelihood of any actual survivors, particularly her adoptive father. They both were aware, unlike almost all other sapient in the galaxy, of the fact that the Chozo were effectively an extinct species. They couldn't breed anymore, and they refused methods such as cloning to propagate their kind. The only reason Zebes was left be as it had been was because of the living population that inhabited the planet.

Without them...was there even a reason to keep the civilized galaxy from studying the relics of the Brood's precursor ancestors?

"We both know that the Federation won't resist raiding the Cryptum and all the technology that the Brood guards under the city." There was no hiding the hurt and disappointment in her voice. "If only to get a jump ahead and put more of a leash on the Confederation once this war is ended again."

"Not so long as I can keep it hidden," came the confident retort as Dane narrow his eyes at the girl. "The only other people besides those of us who were there twenty-three years ago who even know that Zebes exists are the Sangheili, and they're even less tolerant of most Federation leadership than we are." A pause came as the admiral smiled faintly and shrugged. "Truth be told, only a very few of us even know where Zebes is. The stellar coordinates themselves are classified as a singularity quarantine zone, so outside of specific military overrides, or someone knowing exactly where to go, most Navcoms won't allow slipspace transit there anyway."

It still didn't put her at ease. The mere thought that everyone back in the Nest city, especially Maru, were likely dead, was weighing heavy. Even the thought that Gray Voice, with all his hard words and 'tough love' methodology, was gone bothered her. She may have resented his lack of empathy and his harsh methods, but she had never wanted this on him or any one else.

"Samus, I'm sorry to make you consider it all, but we need to know."

She blinked, looking at Dane in a mixture of hurt and anger. "The Cryptum? They never told me how to get in, let alone where it was except under Chozodia."

Dane was taken aback as he realized she had misunderstood his statement. "The hell with the Cryptum, I'm talking about where would any survivors go in the event of this very invasion." The admiral sighed as he saw the anger in her eyes melt into shame. But he wasn't about to blame her for jumping to conclusions. "I know this is all hard and overwhelming. But I have to assume there are survivors and that we are going to take back the planet."

His wristcom beeped, promoting Dane to sigh as he brought the unit near his face and tapped the response key. "Admiral Dane, go ahead."

" _Admiral, we're receiving a subspace distress beacon, frequency code identifies as the_ _ **Daedalus**_ _._ "

His brow knit as he looked back at Samus. "Distress beacon? They should be at Zebes already with a dozen ships and a blockade set, why would they be broadcasting a distress beacon?" Yet even as the words left his lips did he realize what was going on. "Captain Ran, how long until we arrive?" If he was right...

" _Matter of minutes, admiral. We're preparing to re-enter realspace just outside mid range orbit and-_ "

"Drop us out of slipspace now and get shields up on full! Don't question, just do it, all hands to combat stations!" He rose quickly from the seat, keying the door panel open as soon as he was in reach to let him out. Behind him, Samus followed, not sure as to why Dane was so urgent, but sensing something had horribly gone wrong.

The rumble of transition back to realspace was felt as they both neared the main deck lift. Dane was clearly nervous as they travelled the distance to the command deck, and as soon as the lift doors slip open, he was briskly making his way down the corridor with a pace that almost was breakneck for a walk.

And as the doors to the bridge slid open, it became all too horrifyingly clear exactly what Dana had anticipated. A massive field of debris, unmistakable in its origins, hung in a deadman's orbit over the planet. Tactical displays zeroed in on the various locations of ship black box recorders, the last traces of what happened to the _Daedalus_ and its battle group.

"We were only a few hours behind when they signaled that they had arrived." The disbelieving words of shock from the conn was all that needed be said. "What the hell hit them?"

His brow creased as he contemplated that question, and all signs pointed to the same answer. With a concerned grunted as he stepped across the command platform overlooking the navigation and tactical stations, Dane glanced to Captain Ran, reviving the conceding nod before she stepped back to signal that she had relinquished command. "I want all hypersensors lit up. Gravitational displacements, mass shadows, plasma or fusion emissions where there shouldn't be any. There is a Kromus fleet killer out there, and I do not intend to add the _Dauntless_ to that monster's gullet tonight."

Samus was moments behind as he was giving orders. The familiar amber sphere on the main screens brought a halt to her breath even as she noticed the massive field of debris visible hanging over it. She had _warned_ them... "Have there been any survivors found?" It was a foolish question, but she still had hope they hadn't been too late.

"We're still running full spectrum scans." Captain Ran saved them the awkward silence. "So far, it's just black box log recorders, but there still may be someone on the grou-"

" _This is Sergeant Armstrong Houston, broadcasting on all emergency Confleet frequencies, does anyone read me?_ "

There was a stunned quiet as everyone stared at the screens in shock. As the message repeated, the ship's base AI systems were triangulating the source, revealing it to be some distance from the designated landing site. After a few more seconds, the confirmed ID appeared.

"Open our channel," came the command from Captain Ran as she stepped over to the command chair and sat down to switch on the arm rest mounted speaker unit. "Sergeant Houston, this is Fleet Captain Amylin Ran, commanding officer of the GFS _Dauntless_. It's good to hear survivors, sergeant, we barely just arrived. Rendezvous with any others who made it surface side and we'll-"

" _That's a negative, Fleet Captain._ " The rebuttal was swift and blunt, leaving no room to press the point. " _You need to evac the fuck out of this system, the whole damn thing is a trap! They're hiding in the mass shadows of the moons!_ "

A warning that came even as the various sensor arrays began delivering alerts at the same time that something made itself known from the dark side of Zebes' satellites moons. A pair of four kilometer vessels, accompanied each by half a dozen of the newer assault ships that had been in the _Concordia_ 's log data. Red beams of angry energy laced out from the smaller ships, impacting the fully powered shields of the _Dauntless_ and forming a very visible bubble that was beginning to wane.

"Samus was right, they've been entrenched here over a month and didn't waste any time." Dane quickly stepped to the waist high railing at the end of the observation platform. "Helm, begun prepping a jump out of here, as fast as we can muster!"

"Admiral, we have living survivors down there!"

The violent rumble of weapons impact was enough to make Dane shake his head. He hated to abandon anyone to the Kromus, but he had many other people on board to consider as well. And that wasn't even considering the information they needed to bring back to Sol and the Federation. "Captain, I don't like it any better than you, but we need to bring we know back to Fleetcom and make a better plan of attack." A pause as the ship rocked again, his eyes on the image constructed of Zebes itself and the ID code of the sergeant on the communications channel. "I'm sorry, Sergeant. If we had time -"

" _Admiral, we can hold out here as long as possible, but y'all need to run back and tell Sol what happened!_ " There was no hesitation in Sergeant Houston's voice. " _They need to know that there are survivors here, we're gonna protect them as long as we can!_ "

Her eyes widened at hearing those words, her heart skipping beats as Samus dashed across the command deck. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Did he say survivors? There are Chozo survivors?! Is Papa there?!"

"Samus, calm down." The last thing he needed as the _Dauntless_ was rocked again was a super augmented teenage girl letting her emotions get the better of her at the mere prospect of hope. But he couldn't just abandon the troops on the surface. "Sergeant, we're evaccing the system now, but we _are_ coming back. Hold the line with the Chozo as long as you can. All of you stay safe, and make sure the Pirates do _not_ reach the abandoned city, that is an order."

"Wait, no!" She was panicking. Hope had reached her that maybe she not lost her family again, only to be torn away again. "Admiral, please, we can't just leave them!" Samus' voice was cracking as all the screens showed the _Dauntless_ making the turn to reenter slipspace and leave the system. "I am not leaving my father to die again!"

He tried to catch her, but despite her smaller size, her body was far from normal for a human. The force that slammed into him was like a sledgehammer, flinging Dane several feet while the eighteen year old blonde tried to hurry to get to the flight deck and her runabout shuttle. "Shit," he muttered as he was helped back up by the ship's captain. His ribs were sore from the impact, possibly cracked, but he needed to make sure the girl didn't leave. "Someone stop her!"

Alerts for jump prep were echoing as she managed to reach the main lift and key in the flight deck. A rumble as the elevator platform began to move, the descent picking up speed as yet another warning of impending slipspace jump was given. Suddenly it jolted to a halt. Her mind immediately went to panic as it was far too soon to have reached the flight deck. The lift doors shuddered, slid open, and even as her left hand went for the missing paralyzer blaster she was so used to having maglocked to the thigh plate of her base armor, four high charge stun rifles were pointed at her, held tightly in the hands of the same number of marines.

A growl as her hands slowly came up to signal surrender. Against one of those tasers used by the security on Calliope-IX , Samus could maybe withstand a hit. But she more than recognized the kind of weapons she was looking down at now. They wouldn't kill her, but she wasn't going to be shrugging them off as well. And no doubt, as the ship shook with the transition into slipspace, she was going to get a earful from the admiral. Her face fell then at recalling that. Her one ally here, and she had blown through him like a ragdoll.

"Admiral Dane insists that you be escorted to your quarters, ma'am. Follow us, and do not attempt to leave the ship again."

* * *

After about half an hour in medbay being scanned and fitted with a compression vest to keep the various cracked ribs from moving too much while they healed, Dane was finally back out and on his feet, carefully making his way to Samus' quarters. By now, she had been escorted back, and would be under armed guard now to keep her from making another attempt to flee for Zebes.

He could hardly blame her for her panicked reaction, but being who it was that had raised her for the majority of her life, and the three years she had spent in the Mountain Point academy, Dane had assumed she could handle herself better. It was when he did recall _why_ she had been medically discharged that the admiral mentally hit his head at how much he had willingly overlooked with Samus. She _was_ impulsive, she _was_ reckless, and despite what he had heard about Gray Voice and his method of training, she was very much emotionally ruled. He was only lying to himself if he was convinced of anything otherwise. All because, like everyone else had done to her, he was expecting to see her parents in the girl.

Parents she barely even remembered. Parents who had been in her life less than two years before they had been cruelly torn from her. And the same parents who's shadow had been cast on her the entire time she had been in human space.

There was still a pair of marines guarding her quarters as ordered. Good. A nod as the pair saluted and stood aside to allow Dane entry. He took a breath, keyed in the lock overrode, and waited as the door slid open. Silence. He signed and stepped inside, eyes looking around as the door was shut behind him. "Samus, we need to talk about that little incident."

"I have nothing to say."

No, he hadn't imagined she would. "We are not abandoning Zebes, but we need to gather a force large enough to push them out." The words seemed to be clear as he said them, pragmatic and objective enough that there was no mistake in his reasoning. "The Galactic Federation owes the Chozo-"

"The only reason they won't beg you or the Sangheili to just glass the planet is because of the Cryptum." Her voice cracked as she spat those words, anger curling her tone. "The minute they know what's there, that's all that will matter. Not Gray Voice, not the elders, not even papa!"

If it had been Vog'l still installed as Chairman, the admiral would been inclined to agree. But Kea'ton was _not_ G'mar Vog'l. The Mantu as a species were far less conniving than a Divolu politician who had been found making backdoor deals with criminals syndicates to keep his power, and Kea'ton was even more so a living embodiment of those ideals espoused by his people.

"That's why we never told Vog'l about Zebes. As I said before, the entire system is listed as a singularity quarantine zone."

The moments it took Samus to realize what Dane had admitted previously and again now were silent, understanding dawning. "Wait. The Confederation _knows_ about Zebes, and never told-"

"HighCom knows about a sensitive precursor site that is under protections by agreement of General Morris and the Arbiter, and that's it." It took a few more seconds before Dane would continue. He had to let it sink in to the girl just what he was revealing, how long that the truth about her home had been covered up by more than just the Confederation military. "Twenty-three years ago, the Kromus made an attempt for Zebes that tripped every early warning system they had. Your birth father was contacted by Maru to alert us as to the impending invasion, but we never told Vog'l or the Assembly what was really there. The only ones who really knew where we went were myself, the commanding ship captains, General Morris, and the Sangheili Arbiter."

Some of this, she had recently heard about. But a lot were details not many alive even knew about it. Maru had briefly mentioned that there had been a previous invasion attempt during the war, but little else. Dane had explained some earlier, but she hadn't realized how much of a cover up there had been. "That would have taken the fleet over two weeks at best speeds back then to get from Sol to Zebes. And keeping the Assembly in the dark that much..."

A nod as Dane sighed before continuing. "It wasn't easy, considering Vog'l's obsession with micromanaging. The system automated defenses were already about to be overwhelmed when we arrived, but thankfully, the Kromus hadn't gotten themselves into the city yet, and weren't expecting a full battalion with a platoon of ÆSIRs to show up right behind them." The admiral paused as he considered just how much he had gambled in defending Zebes again, and how badly it had gone wrong. "We didn't have that this time, it seems."

"The automated defense grid didn't even give us so much as a chirp. We had literally no warning. Far as I knew, everyone was killed in the initial assault."

And that was what he had sent thousands of people into. In his panic, he had become more concerned for Samus and an immediate response than getting any and all intel about the situation. And the crews of that battle group, twelve ships and thousands of sapient lives. They were on his hands in his folly. _He_ would be the one to answer for that particular blunder, not Harper.

A chirp from his wristcom. As Dane sighed, he signaled for the girl to give him a moment before tapping the response key. "This is Dane. Please tell me we have some good news, captain."

" _We just received an encrypted hyperburst from the TCS_ _ **Concordia**_ _, admiral. Commander Malkovich reports that the seventh is ready to mobilize and join us for the assault._ " There was a hesitant pause as Captain Ran was disrupted by another voice, indiscernible, that was reporting something to her. " _They're awaiting orders, sir. We can have them a response within nine hours._ "

His sullen eyes looked at the young and worn face of the girl he had seen fit to take under his wing. He owed her parents so much, that he had forgotten once already he also had so many others relying on him. Rushing to retrieve her wasn't the mistake he'd made, however. It was rushing a force in without verifying intelligence and the state of the system. And that was on him, no one else.

After a moment, Dane lifted the wristcom to his mouth again and tapped the switch. He would not make that error again. "Encrypt response. We rendezvous at Reach. And send every long range probe we have back into that system, I want to know anything we can before we prep for another full scale assault."


	3. An Overdue Reunion

**2976.265**

**TCS** _**Concordia,**_ **Reach Fleet Command Orbital Yards**  
 **Epsilon Eridani System**

It had been almost twenty hours since the encrypted hyperburst message was sent to the _Dauntless_ , advising the admiral that they were ready to being rendezvous operations. By now, they should have been receiving a message back to start tethering the fleet into slip space, if all went as expected. Last message that they had received was that the _Dauntless_ had run into a Kromus megaship and been forced to abandon the Dakona System.

Which meant that Calliope-IX was already gone. Dane had told him about the Kromus plasma bombings seen during the war. The media never dared show any of the actual bombardments from ship data records, but how it had been described had been enough to paint the imagery for him and many others who had grown up in the war, and the images of what had been done to Beacon at the beginning of the conflict told the rest.

"Seventh fleet reports all final checks cleared, Commander. We're just awaiting word from the admiral."

A silent nod as Malkovich continued to look at the main screens. The trouble was that they had no idea how long hyperburst would take to get to the _Dauntless_ , let along for a reply to come. Just because he knew now the name and system designation of where the Chozo homeworld was, didn't mean he knew _where_ in the galaxy that actually was. A name meant nothing without astronavigation coordinates to know where you were going. And unfortunately for him, Adam didn't rank high enough for clearance to find out the coordinates for Zebes. For all he knew, the system could be anywhere in the galaxy, out beyond the rim, or even into the core regions.

And all that affected how soon it would be before they would hear back from Dane.

"Any peep from the _Dauntless_ yet?"

"None yet, Commander."

It was the wait that was wearing on him now. Adam was a ground soldier, expecting the action of the moment, not the long wait for movement orders of a ship, less alone an entire fleet. Even when he had served as unit commander on the _Vixiv_ with Captain Eison, his job had been commanding troops on the ground. Commanding a ship had proven far different.

Yet that difference in tactical thinking was what Dane said he wanted in command of the _Concordia_. A super-dreadnought masquerading as a carrier. A ship that could crack the crust of a planet with just one of its three super magnetic acceleration cannons alone. Adam found himself a bit perturbed with the sheer destructive power of the ship he had been given. The Federation Assembly would have had a fit if they had known Terra had been constructing this vessel, even during the war.

And that was just what he had been able to access on his clearance as ship's commander. There was plenty about it that was still restricted from him, and Adam entertained no illusions that asking Cora would circumvent that.

Speaking of the ship's AI. The sky blue avatar was suddenly projected before him, a sharp salute given as Cora made her entrance. "We just got a response from the _Dauntless_ , commander. Admiral Dane wants the fleet to wait for his return, looks like things didn't go so well when they got to FS176 to meet with the _Daedalus_ battle group. Expected arrival is by mid day Reach time today."

It had been over eighteen hours since they had sent their message out. For the _Dauntless_ to take so long to return meant that they were coming from well beyond the reaches of the Orion Spur. Insane as it was to consider the distances as he had never really even been outside the confines of the Sol Sector, let alone the regions claimed by the Galactic Federation, Adam was starting to understand just how far the entire crisis really went. Like anyone else who had grown up in that era, he knew that the Kromus has come from the Large Magellanic Cloud, though the _how_ of their oddly near-instantaneous transit from the satellite galaxy over fifty thousand parsecs away was to this day still not known. It had taken the united knowledge of the Confederation and the Sangheili to develop what was now called the Reclaimer-class slipdrive, and even then, it had taken almost two weeks for the unified fleets to cross the expanse between the Orion Spur and the Large Magellanic Cloud alone. For the Kromus to cross that distance, they either had insanely advanced slipdrives, or Chozo technology.

And as Malkovich knew, the answer was likely both. After what he had witnessed and was aware of, it was hard to imagine otherwise.

"Cora, I know it's likely a stupid question, but just what are the _Concordia's_ full capabilities?"

The AI avatar raised a glowing brow at the commander as she clicked her tongue. "Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to disclose that, commander. I can tell you the offensive capabilities of my current weapons loadouts and rated speed ratios, but quite a bit is still classified, and my fastest travel speeds are still, as of yet, unknown."

The way that Cora referred to the _Concordia_ in a first person point of view, as if she _was_ the ship. It was peculiar as Aurora Units, permanently mounted in the ships they served as AI cores for, always referred to themselves and the ships they were mounted into as separate entities. Cora seemed to consider herself and _Concordia_ one and the same.

"They never opened up the throttle before they sent this flying planet cracker out on patrol?"

"As Admiral Dane made you aware, sir," and she was clearly being careful as he may have been let in on the Confederation's secret projects, but the rest of the crew hadn't yet, "the experimental drives aboard this ship are of unknown capabilities. We've tested up to seven fifty lights an hour transit velocity, but we never have actually hit what seems to be my full FTL speeds. Full firing velocity of the central mag-accel cannon array hasn't been actually tested yet, but estimates put one round of a thousand tons mass at a firing velocity of nine point five percent speed of light."

The math was complex, but Malkovich narrowed his eyes as he tried to sort that in his head. "I'm not absolute on the numbers, but that puts damage potential in the upper double digit _giga_ tons of impact force."

"Estimated at a hundred gigatons impact per thousand ton shell."

More than enough to crack the surface of a planet in one shot, let alone the shields of any ship less than the Sangheili CSO flagship, or that Kromus monstrosity. He had guessed right when he assumed the real purpose of this assault carrier; it was intended to take out things like the _Cunning Death_ in brute force ship to ship conflict, and put the fear of whatever gods the Kromus and whoever else would think to mess with the ship might believe in, into them.

And as he had already concluded, it sent a message to those in the Federation who would think to hold a leash on humanity.

"Patience isn't exactly your strongest trait, commander."

"The admiral talk about me that much to you, Cora?" Malkovich would give the artificial intelligence a wary look as he tilted his head. "Being he never saw fit to tell me much about you and this ship."

The sky blue avatar frowned as she pulled the officer's cap from her head. "Commander, you have to understand. This ship was classified code black up until two years ago when HighCom decided that humanity needed to remind the galaxy what we can do, and what we do best."

"The fact that the current chairman of the Federation is outspokenly supportive of Sol's defensive independence likely contributed."

She again sighed in response, but Cora gave a confirming nod. "Kea'ton's sympathies, and those of the Mantu in general, toward humanity and our various plights did assist that decision, yes, commander." A pause as she glanced a moment at the main view screens. Holographic illusions that they were looking outside through a viewport, when in truth they were deep within the ship, behind over a hundred meters of decks and armor. "The obvious and sharp upswing in Kromus activity also was considered enough justification to send _Concordia_ on our first tour of duty." Again, Cora hesitated, though with a wry smile. "Even if it was just simple peace keeping efforts at the borders of Sol Sector."

"And soon to fly far beyond Federation borders into the outer rim."

"Discretion allows me to inform you that you're aiming the wrong direction, commander." Cora noted the raised brow from the human man as she tucked her cap under her arm. "You have enough clearance to know which general direction we're going in, commander. Exact astronavigational coordinates are classified, but our expected destination is actually coreward."

He'd always assumed the Chozo had originated in the outer rim of the galaxy, out in the Unknown Regions that lay beyond the Perseus Transit. Yet when he considered it, and what he knew about Samus, it made sense that the ancient Bird People had come from the inner regions. It had taken Adam a moment to recall that K-2L, in the IR271 system, had been coreward from where the Spur split from the Sagittarius Arm, in the Archite Span that lay inside the Orion-Sagittarius Transit. And Samus had been rescued by the Chozo after the massacre fifteen years ago, meaning they had to have come from the coreward regions.

"System long range network is picking up activity from the Canarus jump point, commander."

That got his attention. The Canarus point was out at the further reaches of Epsilon Eridani and led to a system at the coreward edge of Federation space nearest the Sol Sector borders, with jump points leading in all directions into the unknown regions, many of which had not been fully charted yet. "Reach Fleetcom probably already has it on scanners, but keep an eye all the -"

"Incoming transmission. It's the _Dauntless_!"

That certainly grab Malkovich's attentions as he nodded to the communications station and looked toward the nearest monitor screen. Seconds later, the image of _Dauntless'_ Captain Ran appeared, worn, haggard, and relieved to be alive. " _Commander Malkovich, I've already sent our relay to Reach Fleetcom, but Admiral Dane wanted me to open a line to the_ _ **Concordia**_ _directly. He can explain more._ "

The ship's captain stepped off screen, replaced by the tired and clearly harried visage of Castor Dane. With a sigh of relief, Adam dropped his head but a moment in release of much tension. "Guess I should say welcome home, admiral. I didn't realize the rendezvous destination was that close."

" _It normally would take a day and a half from FS176 to Reach, commander._ " The admiral was clearly recovering from a very stressful journey, one that Malkovich was sure he'd hear about soon enough. " _We managed to catch a pair of pulsar jumps that saved us about half the trip and lost the idiots dumb enough to follow us in, but I would not advise repeating that maneuver._ "

If Adam knew enough about Dane from the admiral's wartime record, that meant they had skirted very close to not making the jumps at all. Not as dangerous as attempting to make the jump via a singularity, but pulsars were plenty destructive and dangerous on their own. The magnetic fields of neutron stars were enough to play horrible games with most navigational AIs trying to calculate the jump points that could stretch hundreds to thousands of light years due to the intense compressed gravitational fields. Slamming into the jump points that formed around pulsars at full speed with a pursuit following was almost tantamount to suicide.

" _I'm not going to sugarcoat this, Commander. It went bad. Very bad._ " The worn dullness in the admiral's eyes spoke much for how little he had slept and how high his stress was. " _We were over a month late to head this off, Malkovich, and I sent a dozen ships and all their crews into a kill box because I panicked and didn't wait for intel._ " Another sigh as Dane shook his head wearily. The last twenty-four hours had very much not been kind to him. " _I'm notifying General Morris as soon as we make berth and I can report to FleetCom. Those deaths are on my hands, so it remains to be seen how this operation will proceed._ "

"Admiral, how did we get any intelligence on what is going on at this precursor category site?" They both knew it didn't take Adam that much to put the pieces together of what they had been intending to fortify defensively. But being that Dane had not informed the fleet yet if what was going on, it wasn't his place to circumvent that and carelessly throw information like that around. "If the Kromus have been there for a month now-"

" _She's on board the_ _ **Dauntless**_ _, Adam._ " As if those words said everything needed, Dane hesitated to say more. He could see the wide eyed expression given by the younger man, and it didn't take much even over the communications link to see Malkovich's apprehension. " _She told me what happened there, I'll tell you more once I've debriefed and updated General Morris._ _ **Dauntless**_ _out._ "

It was only after Dane had vanished and was replaced with the illusionary image of outside the ship that Adam realized he was holding his breath. He hadn't even thought to consider _who_ Dane's informant was until now. It should have been obvious, though. And to that point, it meant that he was going to have to resolve some issues that she rightfully had from when they had last spoken.

"Slipspace rupture detected coming into Reach orbit. ID codes as the _Dauntless_ coming in, commander."

A slow nod. A quick slipspace jump after coming in from the Canarus point was nothing unusual. The jump line itself lay close to fifteen Sol astronomical units from Reach itself, a trek that would take a ship like _Concordia_ over three and a half months at fastest sublight speeds. Even the lowest grade basic jump drive's slipspace could make those distances in seconds, making the combination of transit methods invaluable to the galaxy. Without them both, intersystem travel could still take days for the smaller ships that crisscrossed the sector, let alone travel between Sol and the Al'kya system.

"I'll meet the admiral and his guests down at Fleetcom," Malkovich finally stated, turning his head toward his own executive officer. "Lieutenant Commander, you have the conn and command."

"Acknowledged, sir. Good luck."

A quick salute between them to formalize the change of command, and Adam made his way out of the command bridge as he strode for the main lift. A displayed message on his wristcom from Cora informed him that she had already arranged a shuttle to take him down to the planet. The longer he was around the unusual AI entity, the less apprehensive he was getting. But he still had questions.

Those in particular would have to wait. He had other questions now for when he met with Dane on the surface. Granted, he hadn't been given orders to do so, but he was still the commanding officer of the _Concordia_ , and even if Dane was going to formally assume senior command, it hadn't happened yet. And Adam was _still_ the nominal CO.

* * *

**GFS** _**Dauntless** _ **, Reach Orbit.**

She was hungry already.

Hours had passed since they had made the jump from the last pulsar system, where a set of Kromus battle cruisers had gotten caught in the gravitational field of the raging pair of neutron stars and failed to make the jump point out. The fact that said neutron stars were far higher mass ratios than were considered normal had been the least of the risks they took, considering the system had not been charted until they had emerged from another previously unmapped jump line and nearly slammed through the gamma ray laser jets firing from the poles of one of the pulsars.

Samus hadn't been on the bridge to see it first hand, but Dane had told her once they had arrived in Epsilon Eridani, though it had been far more off handed and more trying to praise the talents of the ship's navigations crew than to alarm her with how dangerous the situation had been. Regardless, they had spent a good deal of time, once half a dozen Kromus ships had emerged from slipspace in pursuit, trying to evade a drawn out engagement. That the Kromus would have pursued them as far as they did and only gave up because their ships were sucked into the gravitational field of a pair of pulsars said quite a bit for how much they did not want what happened at Zebes to be found out.

They were trying to buy time still. Find a way into the ancient Cryptum under Chozodia City, maybe even storm the Halls of I'ya'dn and find what relics were kept there. It meant they weren't too late. Not yet, at least.

The notification chime that someone was at the door of her temporary quarters. A sigh as she stood up from the small desk and crossed the room to tap the door controls. As Samus had expected, it was the admiral. "Sir."

"I'm about to head down to the surface and make my report in person to FleetCom." The worn tone in the older man's voice betrayed him of his worry and concern for the situation. "I've made arrangements for private quarters for you once we make groundside, but after that, I'm not sure what you're going to do." A heavy sigh escape his lips as Dane felt the weight of the universe on his shoulders. "I know your father was all but disowned by his mother's family after he entered the service, even if she supported him before she died, so even if we sent you back to Terra-"

"Zebes is my home." The response was quick, without thought, and instinctive to her. Samus shook her head at any other consideration. "Admiral, my birth-parents did everything they could while they still were alive. I don't remember much of them, but I know they died protecting me." She hesitated as Dane seemed to soften at her noting her parents. "But I was raised by _Maru_. He was the one who was my father in all my memories since the massacre on K-2L." Again, Samus stopped, but she visibly flinched when mentioning the colony, and it wasn't missed by the admiral. "I may be able to live on Terra, but it will never be _home_ , sir."

The admiral was silent. He couldn't refute the young woman's words, and he was more than aware, possibly more than Samus herself, of how she had been rescued by the Chozo. He had known her actual parents, considered them like his children after his own wife and sons had been taken from him in the war. But he also had known the Chozo who had raised her, to a degree. He had been told everything that happened; the child they had found wandering in the devastation, the advanced augmentation and fusion of her genetic structure and biological makeup with that of Maru's own so that she could survive the harshness of Zebes beyond the Nest city.

He knew how much Terra could never be her home. But it could be a sanctuary, at least. "We'll get it sorted, Samus. Your parents were part of the service, ÆSIRs who gave everything they had. The Fleet watches out for its own and theirs."

Her eyes turned away, not sure she could believe that would be the case. Not this time, at least. "I just want my home and my father back, admiral." Samus didn't meet his gaze this time. "The Kromus can burn in the twelve Hells, but I just want my father back."

As she walked past him now, Castor Dane let out a deep sigh once more. It would be hard, but he would have to help her as best he could. The trouble was the inevitable discovery by less morally guided agencies of _what_ she was, as the "who" was without any doubts

"That's all I want, admiral. To go home to my father."

He could only nod an agreement to her sentiment. "I'm doing what I can, Samus. That's all I can guarantee of myself."

* * *

**ConFleet Headquarters, Reach Branch**   
**New Alexandria, Eposz, Reach**

The landing pad was heavily staffed as the Goshawk troop ship fired the underside repulsors to bring itself to a soft landing. A few moments passed before the rear hatch lowered, allowing Admiral Dane to descend to the tarmac with his blonde companion trailing behind him. He had expected to meet an escort considering the circumstances, but not the man wearing silver oak clusters and the three goldenrod bands of a commander on the epaulets at his shoulders.

"I don't recall giving you orders to rendezvous here at FleetCom, Commander Malkovich."

"Respectfully, admiral, I'm still active commanding officer of the _Concordia_ , and thus attending any tactical coordination is without question."

Despite his general mood as of the escape from Zebes, Dane could not help but allow Adam's statement a satisfied smirk. "You learn fast, son. I'll let you two catch up while I head in and meet with General Morris."

And as Dane continued on his way, the taller man with a head of black-brown hair would stare in uncertain silence at the blonde girl dressed in blue light armor plates over a thick half-sleeve jacket and pants, who stood just half a head shorter than him. He expected rage in the blue-green eyes that met his, anticipated the scars over her left eye and cheek to scrunch and tighten in anger at seeing him again after nearly a year since they last spoke.

The surprise was that he was greeted by none of that.

"So, how are Madeline and Melissa?"

The casual question threw him off guard even more than he had been prepared for. Adam shifted uncomfortably as he nodded for his escorts to join the admiral before pulling his cap from his head and breathing in. "Look, Samus...I know that I'm the last person you wanted to see-"

"No, I've had time to-"

"What I mean is-"

"Adam, look, it was almost-"

"I get that you're still angry at me-"

After the constant interruptions, Samus took a deep breath and held up her hand in a pinching gesture for Adam to stop while he was ahead. "Malkovich, I swear to I'ya'dn, I _will_ break your jaw to shut you up if you keep cutting me off." The girl sighed as she dropped her hand, then finally gave a faint smile as she looked at Malkovich with a tilted head. "It's been almost a year. I've had time to cool my head and think about what you went through...and I get it. It wasn't any easier for you to make the order than it was for me to watch him go. If you hadn't made that call, though, Captain Eison would have."

That had not been what he was expecting, but his shoulders relaxed as Malkovich let out the breath he had been anxiously holding. "Maddie is doing fine, my parents are staying with her for the next few months to help with the new baby while Melissa is in pre-school now."

"New baby? I guess I should say congrats. Have you named them yet?"

"Hector, after Maddie's grandfather."

There was a faint smile on Aran's lips. "A boy? And you didn't name him after my birth-father? I'm surprised." She tapped his shoulder softly as she continued to walk by the taller man, noting he was not getting her attempt at humor. "Probably a bad joke. I'm not exactly in the best of moods with all this, so we probably should get going and I can tell you and Dane what's been happening."

As the blonde girl continued on down the tarmac, Malkovich sighed and shook his head as he followed her. "We need to have a talk about respect and command, cadet."

"I'm not your cadet anymore, Adam, and we need to get back to Zebes as soon as possible, or the Pirates get everything my parents fought to keep safe from them."


End file.
